Distraught over the death of his wife and daughter, Adam Devlin leave the society he no longer wishes to belong. He purchases a decommissioned prison farm and with his sons and friends, who join him in his self-imposed exile, they live, safe and secure, away from the madness of crime-filled cities and a techno-crazed population. Until the end of their world begins.

The Ophidian Virus spreads to all corners of the planet, reactivating the Dead who then attack and eat the flesh of the living. In the aftermath, the survivors of the Colony train Soldiers to hunt and kill the reanimated Dead. Tya Maxell is one such Soldier.

During a Status Challenge against a former First Killer, Tya uncovers a devastating secret: that the society she grew up in was based on a lie. Escaping from the Colony with a prey-child she saves from the Dead, Tya teams up with other survivors who are determined to bring an end to the perpetrators of the greatest hoax on the planet. She must Challenge the corrupt President of the Javier Corporation, who uses the Dead to control the survivors of the Plague. In a life or death battle-not only against the Dead, but against a man who will fight to preserve his power at any cost-Tya must prevail, or all will be lost.